Reed for wind musical instruments



July 22, 1930. p ARTHUR 1,770,966

- REED FOR WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed July 30, 1924 Hal PatentedJuly 22, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENTVOFFICE PAUL ARTHUR, F ELKHORN,WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOB TO FRANK BOLTON & OO., OI'

ELKHORN, WISCONSIN; A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS REED FOR WIND MUSICALINSTRUMENTS Application filed July 30,

This invention relates to reeds for wind instruments, such assaxophones, clarinets, bassoons, oboes, musettes, and others of the typeemploying a reed to produce vibration.

The object of the invention is to provide reedswhich shall be of moreuniform character than heretofore produced, which shall be impervious tomoisture, which shall have long life, which shall produce uniform toneeffects throughout the period of their life, and which shall be ofimproved construction and operation.

The invention is exemplified in the combination and arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawing and described in the followingspecification, and it is more particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a reed embodying thepresent invention; and

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of a saxophone mouth thereon.

The reed 10, as illustrated in Fig. 1, has

5 a flat under face 11 and a rounded upper face 12 at one end. The upperface is gradually reduced and flattened to produce a thin vibratingtongue 13 at the opposite end. Because of the nature of the materialused "the reed 39 may be readily made in any desired shape and thicknessand the characteristics of the reed may be kept uniform for an numbermanufactured.

In Fig. 2 the numeral 14 designates a saxophone mouthpiece having thereed 10 secured thereto by a band 15 and clamping screws 16.

Heretofore reeds have commonly been made of bamboo by cutting the sameinto proper shape. It will be readily apparent that this material andmethod of manufacture does not lend itself to uniformity of product andrequires more or less skill in its manufacture.

Moreover, the material is such that it absorbs moisture and so loses itsefiiciency.

The present invention contemplates the manufacture of reeds from aphenolic compound. It has been found that phenolic compounds when shapedto form a reed will produce the desired vibration and will give uniformimproved tone qualities. The material piece showing the reed in place,

1924. swarm. 129,021.

may be worked by any of the usual processes for handling material ofthis nature. By

employing a molding operation for producing the reeds, the reeds may beproduced in any numbers, all of the reeds being of the same uniformquality. Because the material is one which can be molded it willapparent that there is practically no limit to the shapes andproportions in which the reeds may be manufactured. This, of course, isnot true of bamboo reeds where the grain and thickness of materialavailable limits'the size, sha e, and proportion of the reeds. materialis not absorptive of moisture it will maintain its uniform quality foran indefinite period. It has been found that in some cases it may bedesirable to add to the material before molded, fibrous substances, suchas silk or wood fibers. to decrease the brittleness of the finishedproduct. It will be apparent that any thread-like material may be usedfor this purose.

p Another advantage of the henolic compound for the manufacture of reedsis that suitable coloring matter may be added or the material treated inany suitable manner to produce any desired color Heretofore it has beennecessary to permit the reed to retain its nature color since paintingor otherwise coloring bamboo is impractical because the reed must betaken into the mouth of the player. In the manufacture of the reed thephenolic compound while soft may have suitable fibrous material andcoloring matter mixed therewith, after which the material may be moldedinto proper shape and permitted to harden.

I claim 1. A reed for wind musical instruments constructed entirely of aphenolic compound moulded to form a relatively thick body portion and athin vibratory tongue at one end.

2. A reed for wind musical instruments comprising a phenolic compoundhaving a relatively small amount of fibrous material incorporatedtherein.

3. A reed for wind musical instruments comprising a phenolic compoundhaving a relatively small amount of fibrous material incorporatedtherein and moulded into a body Since the p enolic portion having arelatively thin tongue at one end thereof.

4. A reed for wind musical instruments comprising a phenolic compoundhaving fibrous material and coloring matter incor-' porated therein andmoulded into a body portion having a vibratory tongue at one 'endthereof.

5. A reed for wind musical instruments constructed entirely of aphenolic compound moulded to the desired form.

.In testimony whereof I have si ed my name to this specification on this18t day of July, A.-D. 1924. PAUL ARTHUR.

